


Unexpected

by AoiTsukikage



Category: One Piece
Genre: M/M, blame twitter, in which i continue to prove i ship almost everybody with sanji
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-12
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-03-17 11:54:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3528473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AoiTsukikage/pseuds/AoiTsukikage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sanji couldn't really say when he'd decided to go out that night that he'd end up in bed beside a man who'd once tried to kill him. But, well, life's like that sometimes. Sanji/Kaku, and yes, you read that right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He should have known he’d regret this. 

Scratch that, he _had_ known he’d regret it, but at the time it hadn’t mattered because it had been _so long_ since he’d gotten the chance to be with somebody. 

Hell, he’d expected to have a couple of days on Sabaody to at least release some tension but, of course, they attracted trouble like a magnet and had been forced to take off almost immediately, and it had taken until now for them to actually spend the night on an island (mostly because he’d idly mentioned they were almost out of food, which of course prompted Luffy to immediately demand they find a port town).

Luckily, there was one on the next island, and Nami had given them all their allotted money and told them to come back in two days.  He’d scurried away quickly, getting all of the supplies bought and then heading into the nearest inn he saw that had a bar (it was always much less of a hassle to be in the same building when picking up somebody, after all).  

And it wasn’t that he hadn’t missed his crew over the past two years, because of course he had, but this was something nobody on the crew could give to him.  Yes, he might have fantasized about it once…or twice…or several times…with Nami and Robin, but it was never something he seriously considered in reality.  And the guys, well, Brook and Chopper were out on principle, and Franky sort of was, too.  Luffy was just too innocent for him to even consider asking.  Usopp…Usopp had his girl, or else Sanji _might_ have, since he and the sniper had always been close, and Zoro would have been okay for a quick fuck if Sanji had been convinced they could actually get things done without it devolving into a physical fight. 

So really, his best bet was to find a stranger, and it had been relatively easy considering how picky he could be.  But the man had drawn his attention instantly, not just because he looked sort of familiar (and really, he was unmistakeable, so that Sanji couldn’t place where he’d seen him before bothered him immensely), but because everybody else in the bar was giving him a wide berth. 

The man was dangerous, that much was certain, and although he interacted with the bartender cordially and seemed in good spirits, there was something about the set of his shoulders and the sharpness of his gaze that told Sanji he was constantly alert.  His wide eyes had gotten even wider when Sanji had taken the stool beside him, but he didn’t say anything else. 

Their conversation was polite, nothing more than small talk about the weather and the island itself, at least until Sanji had yawned in a rather exaggerated manner and indicated that he was going to retire, pulling at the knot of his tie and leveling his best smoldering gaze at the man.

It might have been two years, but he could still turn it on when he had to. 

There was a flicker of indecisiveness in the man’s expression, a slight grimace on his lips under that rather ridiculous nose (Sanji wasn’t going to judge, since he’d considered Usopp as a viable option, but it was something else), but he stood up and jammed his hands in the pockets of his pants, baseball cap pulled low over his eyes while following Sanji up the lobby stairs and into the room he’d booked earlier. 

And then, well, that’s when things became a bit of a blur, because the other man was a damn contortionist (Sanji had thought _he_ was flexible, but he had nothing on the guy).  He couldn’t remember much other than an aching need to feel somebody’s else’s skin against his, too desperate to even bother with anything more than naked frottage, bodies tangled together impossibly and release hitting like a tidal wave, swift and powerful and leaving him shaking. 

It had been awkward after that, because it always was, and Sanji had kind of scrambled under the covers and assumed the man would leave, but now it was the middle of the night and he was awake and there was a warm body in the bed next to him, which _definitely_ wasn’t in any of his plans. 

He didn’t _fully_ regret it, exactly, because it had been fucking hot and he kind of wished he would have had the stamina to do something a little _more,_ but one-night-stands weren’t supposed to sleep beside you and it was throwing Sanji off a little. 

Well, he wasn’t going to kick the man out, after all, but he was too wired to fall back asleep so he lit up a cigarette and sat up against the headboard, looking down at his bedfellow. 

Despite his nose, the man _was_ attractive, Sanji thought absently.  His body was a work of art, lean and muscular without being bulky, every inch of him finely crafted and Sanji knew he was stronger than he looked, since he’d flipped them both over using just his legs.  There was a rather impressive scar on his chest, star-shaped and looking like it had to have been immensely painful at the time, but other than that he was remarkably untouched for obviously being a fighter. 

He watched the man’s nose wrinkle as the smoke drifted toward him, carried by the breeze coming in through the open window, and when he blinked his eyes open there was a slight moment of disorientation before he sighed and propped himself up. 

“Sorry.  I shouldn’t’ve presumed…”

“It’s fine,” Sanji shrugged, because for some reason it _was._ “I don’t mind.”

“Ah.  Well, thank you,” he looked awkward now, biting his lip and glancing behind him to where their clothes lay scattered in a heap in the corner.  “I should probably…”

“I said, ‘it’s fine,’” Sanji wasn’t sure why he was pressing the issue, since he _could_ have just let the guy go and never worried about seeing him ever again, but for some reason he didn’t want to do that.  “You’re not bad company.”

“You really don’t recognize me, do you?” the man had a bit of a sad smile on his face and Sanji tilted his head to the side, because that pretty much confirmed all of his suspicions. 

“You know _me_ , obviously.”

“Aye, that I do, lad,” the man pushed himself up and sat back beside Sanji, who bristled a bit at being called a ‘lad’ by somebody who couldn’t have even been five years older than him.  “This is prob’ly gonna sound mighty strange, but I’ve had my eye on you for a good while, now.”

Sanji narrowed his eyes, because what the fuck was _that_ supposed to mean?

“Even before you got your bounty, I had a feeling you could fight, and seeing you in action,” he clicked his tongue.  “Well, y’ didn’t disappoint, I’ll say that.”

“Look, stop talking in fucking riddles and just tell me how you know me,” Sanji growled, because he wasn’t in the mood for this shit. 

“I’m not sure I wanna do that, y’see, because I’m pretty sure you’re gonna kick me clean through the wall once I do,” he chuckled.  “But trust me, Black-leg Sanji, when I say I mean you and your crew no harm.  Not this time, at any rate,” he wrapped his arms around his knees, resting his chin on top of them.  “I feel like I should apologize for kickin’ you through that bench on the train, but your swordsman more than paid me back for any damage I did to your lot,” he touched his chest and grimaced, and Sanji’s brain connected all of the hazy dots and he damn near _did_ kick him through the wall once he realized. 

No wonder Sanji didn’t recognize him, since he’d only seen him across a train car and then again on the top of Enies Lobby from the next building over, but from what he remembered Zoro was fighting…

“You’re the fucking _giraffe?!”_

“Oh, God,” the man started laughing, burying his face against his blanket-covered knees as his shoulders shook with suppressed mirth.  “Yes, in that case, I suppose I am.  I’d just thought me being CP9 might have factored higher on your list of concerns.”

“It does.  It… _fuck,”_ Sanji covered his eyes with one hand and groaned. 

“Well, now y’ can say you’ve slept with the enemy,” the man shrugged and Sanji shoved at him, surprisingly not mad that he’d been denied this information until now.  “The name’s Kaku, by the way,” he held out a hand and Sanji thought it was kind of strange for him to be so cordial now considering they were still lying in bed without any clothes on.  But, well, he did appreciate good manners, so he reached out anyway to return the handshake. 

“Sanji.  But you know that,” Sanji sighed, blowing out some smoke rings and wondering what it all meant.  He’d assumed if they’d have ever run into any of those CP9 bastards again they’d be pissed at having been beaten and would try to kill them on sight, but sleeping with one of them hadn’t ever crossed his mind (okay, that was a lie, that blonde woman was the embodiment of so many of his sexual fantasies, but he would have had no chance against her either in a fight or in the bedroom).  “So.  Gonna kill me?”

“No,” Kaku shook his head, looking directly at Sanji as if to make sure the blond believed him.  “I…we’re rather in the same boat now, y’see, so it wouldn’t do us any good.  Our _boss_ ,” he said the word rather derisively, “decided to blame the failure entirely on us and so we’ve been on the run for the last couple ‘a years,” he unfurled his body, leaning back against the headboard.  “It wouldn’t do us any good t’ try and capture you at this point…not that I’d want to,” he added, smiling, and despite himself Sanji smiled back. 

He believed this man, agent and assassin though he might be, but there was something earnest about his words, about the look in his eyes under those rather impressive eyelashes, and Sanji felt himself relax fully. 

“So, where’s the rest of your bunch?” he knew Kaku wouldn’t be traveling alone, after all. 

“Dunno.  Probably around town, some of ‘em, and the rest’ll be back on the ship.  I’m surprised things’ve been so quiet tonight with us around, since Rob’s still more prone to killing than talking when dealin’ with people,” he tapped his long fingers against a bent knee, but the tone of his voice was fond. 

Sanji wasn’t sure how anybody could be _fond_ of that cat-bastard, but maybe all of them had hidden depths he wasn’t aware of from seeing them just as enemies.  He had a brief panicked thought about what might happen if any members of their respective groups met, but since the town was still standing and it was already the middle of the night apparently they’d lucked out on that front. 

He leaned over to drop the cigarette into a cup on the bedside table before turning back to the other man, who was blinking at him slowly in the darkness.  The silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable, really, but Sanji was still kind of processing and before he could stop himself he reached out to press his fingertips against Kaku’s chest, spreading his palm over the center of the scar there. 

“So.  The Marimo did a number on you, huh?” he let his hand linger, feeling Kaku suck in a breath at the touch.  “He always liked you, you know.”

“Well, he _did_ apologize for defeating me, which is somethin’ that doesn’t strike me as normal where a lad like him’s concerned,” Kaku noted. 

“Yeah, as you can probably imagine, we don’t fight a lot of people that have any sort of honor,” he moved to pull his hand away but Kaku caught his wrist, holding it there. 

“Speakin’ of having honor…or, well…” the agent sighed, pushing himself upright so that he was level with Sanji.  “I know Iceburg’s alive because we still get the paper, but the others…Paulie…” he stopped and visibly swallowed, looking guilty.  “I know I shouldn’t care, since they’re just s’posed t’ be casualties of the job ‘n all, but…”

“They’re fine,” Sanji promised, and Kaku blinked at him before slowly smiling.  “I’m pretty sure they hate you, but when we left Water 7 everybody was fine.”

“That’s good.  They deserve to hate me,” Kaku laughed bitterly.  “I don’t care if they do, ‘s long as they’re alright,” he nodded, and Sanji caught himself leaning closer before he even realized it, because he was starting to realize that Kaku was definitely not the man he’d assumed just based on who he’d worked for. 

He knew he was a fucking bleeding heart when it came to wanting to help people, no matter who they were, but this was all getting a little _too_ personal.  He didn’t kiss hook-ups, after all. 

“You can,” Kaku gave him a sad little smile.  “If y’ want to. I dunno why you would, since you don’t owe me anything, but…”

Sanji cut him off, because he couldn’t stand to hear him belittling himself when it was obvious this had all been eating away at him for the past two years.  He was a little surprised both at how eager he was and at how quickly Kaku responded, wrapping a hand around the back of his neck.

His nose, even more surprisingly, wasn’t as big of an issue as Sanji had feared it would be, and when they broke apart Kaku wasn’t looking quite as haunted. 

“So,” he cleared his throat, running his fingers up into Sanji’s shaggy hair.  “How long’re you lot hangin’ around here?”

“One more night,” Sanji murmured, moving his hands to frame Kaku’s waist, and the other man’s eyes lit up at the news. 

“Does that mean you’ll be up for round two?” he asked, not bothering to hide the hopeful lilt to his voice, and Sanji kissed him again as an answer. 

“As long as you show me your little giraffe trick sometime,” he snickered, pressing his body against Kaku’s and feeling himself starting to get aroused again. 

Kaku groaned and made quite a show of rolling his eyes, but Sanji noticed that he didn’t say ‘no.’

But that could come later.  Right now, Sanji just hoped that nobody from his crew would disturb him for the next day, because he had a feeling he was going to be very, very busy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. This was born because people on twitter asked me about my unconventional Sanji-ships and then said they'd be interested in reading it if I wrote it. 
> 
> 2\. That being said, if you did read this and want to leave a comment, feel free!


	2. Chapter 2

“We have to stop meeting like this.”

“Why?  I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Sanji had to punctuate even that short sentence with gasps, trying to slow his breathing.  His body was still trembling, hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, and he was _pretty_ sure it wasn’t normal for sex to be more exhausting than any training regimen he’d ever done.  

It was always like that with them, though, and he wasn’t sure if it was just because they were both so damn flexible and resilient that they inadvertently always wanted to test each other’s limits, or if it was because they only ever had one or two nights together without knowing when they’d even see each other again that made them go overboard.

Whatever it was, it always ended up giving him both the best sex he’s ever had and the most restful sleep afterward, so he certainly wasn’t going to take issue with it…although, apparently, his bedmate didn’t share his feelings. 

“Oh, don’t misunderstand me, I’m not complainin’ one whit about _what_ we get up to,” Kaku grinned at him and Sanji found it impossible not to smile back because the other man’s good-nature was so damn infectious.  “But sooner or later we’re not gonna be able t’ keep this hush-hush, y’see.  It’s a miracle my lot and yours have never run into each other yet,” he shrugged.

Sanji couldn’t really disagree, either, since this was maybe the fourth or fifth time they’d inadvertently crossed paths and yet _somehow_ nobody except for the two of them ever seemed to meet up.  It was a stroke of good luck he normally didn’t have in his life and he certainly wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but as Kaku had said, it was foolish to believe their luck in that matter would last forever.

Still, it wasn’t something he wanted to spend a lot of time thinking about in his current sated state, and he rolled over and buried his face in the pillow, mumbling out a garbled sentence that he hoped Kaku would interpret as ‘let’s talk about it later.’

He felt a hand land between his shoulder-blades, pressing firmly down on his back and making him sigh.  Sometimes it scared him a little, how much he already trusted Kaku despite the fact that at one point the other man had been trying to kill them.  He knew somewhere, in the back of his mind, that the other man was a trained assassin and in their current position he was leaving himself completely open (hell, he’d seen some of the guys from CP9 stab clean through a person’s body with their _finger,_ so Kaku could kill him in an instant even unarmed), but a bigger part of him was convinced that it would never happen. 

Kaku, despite everything, was surprisingly earnest, and so far he hadn’t given Sanji any reasons to doubt he was exactly the man he portrayed himself to be. 

Not that, in the end, Sanji really knew _that_ much about him.  Their interactions were limited to small talk and sex, and normally one of them was gone by the time the other woke up the next morning.  He was pretty sure that wasn’t how relationships were supposed to work, but he’d hardly call what they had any sort of relationship, especially since it was only supposed to happen once.

Maybe it _did_ mean something that it kept happening, that they kept running into each other, but it wasn’t as if things would ever have a _chance_ to progress considering their very, very different life paths..

And well, the thought of his crew or any of Kaku’s CP9 buddies finding out about them…it would only end badly. 

Sanji sighed, pushing himself upright enough to reach out and grab a cigarette and his lighter from the bedside table.  He lit up and leaned back against the headboard, lifting his arm instinctively and not being surprised when Kaku took the obvious invitation and leaned against his body. 

“We can’t tell them,” he decided, since that was the one thing he was sure of.  Yeah, Zoro had some measure of respect for Kaku and Sanji was sure that at least in this the swordsman would be on his side (he doubted Zoro cared who he was sleeping with, after all, since the other man didn’t seem to be interested in sex in general), but it would still be an uncomfortable situation to be forced into. 

“Of course not,” Kaku snorted, throwing one arm across Sanji’s chest and resting his head on the blond’s shoulder.  “But that doesn’t mean somebody’s not gonna come snooping.  ‘s not like ‘we just fell into bed naked’ is an excuse that’s gonna fly, y’know, ‘specially since we _were_ the government’s _intelligence_ agency,” he pointed out.

Yeah, if they were caught in any sort of compromising position it would be hard to make up an excuse anybody would believe. 

“It’s none of their fucking business,” Sanji muttered, even though he knew that hardly mattered. 

“Y’know, for most of my life my very _job_ has been pokin’ my nose in things that technically aren’t my business,” Kaku noted, and Sanji wondered if the ‘nose’ reference had been intentional since, in Kaku’s case, he certainly could have meant it very literally.  “My team’s pretty good at findin’ out what’s s’posed to be hush-hush.”

“So you think they already know?” Sanji asked, his body tensing, because having an entire group of assassins knowing…that didn’t make him feel very comfortable, all things considered. 

“They might suspect I’ve got a…steady lover, but they’re prob’ly not lookin’ much into it,” he decided after a few moments of silence.  “Well, Rob might, but I c’n handle him,” he promised, even though Lucci was the one Sanji was _most_ afraid of. 

Kaku himself might have been rather congenial, but from what Sanji had heard Rob Lucci was a man who had no issue killing in cold blood, and more than that who probably got some sort of perverse _pleasure_ from doing it.

“He’s not a monster, Sanji,” Kaku murmured, as if he could read the blond’s thoughts.  “He’s done…things that scare even me, t’ be honest, but…y’know our old boss?”

“The guy who got his spine broken by Robin-chan?” he asked, realizing in that moment that he had some pretty brutal people on his own crew.  He didn’t really think about Robin being like that much, but she’d been an assassin too, after all. 

“Fitting, really, since he’s utterly spineless,” Kaku grunted.  “But there were some things he told Rob to do he just…wouldn’t, b’cause they were too inhumane.  He’s a killer, but he’s got morals, and he doesn’t go around snuffing the life outta innocents,” he sounded more serious than Sanji had ever heard him and all he could do was nod.  “If he killed everybody he didn’t like our team would be mighty tiny,” he added, grinning now.

“But you’d be safe?” Sanji raised an eyebrow and Kaku nodded.

“Yeah, he’s always liked me, but I’ve never taken it for granted,” he noted, rubbing Sanji’s arm and shifting closer. 

Sanji realized that this was probably the longest conversation he and Kaku had ever had, at least since the first time they’d slept together.  It surprised him, a little, how _easy_ the other man was to talk to. 

Yeah, they were obviously highly compatible in the bedroom, but that didn’t automatically mean they’d get along outside of it, and Sanji was quickly discovering that, in fact, they probably _would._

It’s not really a thought that should faze him, maybe, but considering that he and Kaku were pretty much fated to be enemies because of the respective sides they were on, it’s startling how much they do have in common. 

“Y’ look like you’re thinkin’,” Kaku drawled lazily, his normally wide eyes half-closed.  “What about?”

“Just…” Sanji sighed, letting his fingers skim down Kaku’s arm.  “In another life, we could have been friends, I think.”

“Yeah, more ‘n likely,” Kaku agreed brightly.  “But y’know, I’m glad we could meet, even if it’s like this,” he added, slumping farther against Sanji’s body.

Sanji didn’t really reply, because even _that_ had seemed a little too revealing for their current situation.  He could tell Kaku wasn’t asleep yet, his breathing was too uneven and his body too tense. 

Sanji reached to drop his cigarette into the ashtray set on the nightstand, blowing out a last stream of smoke. 

He should probably leave, he thought, but a look down at Kaku suddenly made that idea far less appealing. 

“You can, if you wish,” Kaku’s voice was soft, and Sanji wondered just how he knew exactly what he’d been thinking about.  “I apologize if I was too forward.”

And Sanji could literally see him slam all of his walls up, his normal lazy drawl replaced by a way of speaking that was far too formal. 

Add that to the list of things that shouldn’t bother him but very obviously does, he thought with a sigh. 

“You weren’t,” Sanji tugged at his wrist and Kaku pushed his body up, blinking a few times when instead of moving away Sanji pulled the other man over to straddle his lap.  He ran his hands down Kaku’s sides, letting them frame his trim waist.  Damn, Kaku’s body really was perfect. 

“Oh.  Good, then,” Kaku shrugged, but his tone hardly sounded as familiar as it had only a few moments earlier.  Sanji had to remind himself that it wasn’t personal, not really, but Kaku’s life had depended on him being able to switch between hot and cold at a moment’s notice and most of the time acting like he didn’t care was probably what was expected of him. 

“I don’t want to leave,” he said then, getting a grin from Kaku that could probably have lit up the whole fucking town, and fuck him if it didn’t make him feel about a million times better about everything.  “C’mere,” he pulled the other man down into a kiss, feeling Kaku’s arms wrap around his neck. 

“Easy there, lad,” Kaku chuckled, pulling away and sitting upright.  “My stamina’s not nearly what it once was.”

Sanji rolled his eyes, because for all Kaku talked like he was eighty, he knew the age gap between them was probably fairly small.  “What are you, 25?” he asked, arching his curled brow, and Kaku muttered something under his breath. 

Well, Sanji thought with a rather smug smile, Kaku’s body certainly wasn’t matching up with his words, since he was already half-hard again. 

“I think your stamina looks fine from here,” he quipped, getting a rather unimpressed sniff in return.  He wasn’t too proud to admit that maybe changing the subject toward sex was a way for him to cut the previous conversation short, since he still wasn’t sure what all of it meant. 

He liked Kaku, of course, and he was pretty sure that Kaku liked him, but that was all it was and all it could ever be so talking about anything more than sex was useless in the long run. 

“Fine,” Kaku gave him a look then that made him a little nervous, because it was a type of rather knowing smirk that seemed far outside of his normal personality.  He damn near bent over backwards then, his knees still bracketing Sanji’s hips as he arched his back and reached behind him to pick up the discarded bottle of oil from where it was tangled in the mussed-up sheet. 

He rolled his body back up slowly, spine uncurling until he was seated upright once more.  Sanji gulped, not even bothering to hide the effect that little display had had on him.  Yeah, he was flexible, but he had nothing on Kaku and watching him move was a serious turn-on. 

“Now, where were we?” the older man leaned down to kiss him again and Sanji returned it eagerly, tilting his head to the side a little.  Kissing Kaku was one of those things that had taken a while to get figure out, because his damn nose made it fucking impossible unless one of them came in at an angle, but Sanji wasn’t even bothered by it anymore. 

He felt Kaku’s body hitch forward and he let out a little groan into Sanji’s mouth, causing the cook to pull away.  A quick glance over Kaku’s shoulder showed that he was currently contorting his body in the most impossible way to keep kissing Sanji and be fingering himself at the same time, and Sanji swallowed to wet his throat which had gone suspiciously dry at the sight of it. 

“What…”

“D’you have any opposition t’ me…mm…ridin’ you?” Kaku asked, a tiny quaver in his voice that Sanji wasn’t sure what to make of.  He stopped moving his hand for a moment to lock eyes with Sanji and the blond shook his head.  “Good!”

And there was that hot and cold shift again, going from vulnerable one second to overly enthusiastic the next.  It made Sanji’s head spin, but he was starting to at least anticipate that it could happen seemingly without any notice. 

Sanji wrapped his arm around Kaku’s neck and pulled him down into another kiss, his free hand sliding down the other man’s chest.  The scar tissue left from Zoro’s final attack was rough under his fingertips, and he could hear Kaku’s breath hitch at the touch. 

Kaku’s hips snapped forward then, a low groan working its way out from his throat.  Sanji let himself lie back and just…studied the other man, hands making their way to Kaku’s hips again. 

This…this was new, too.  Most of the time their coupling was frantic, rushed because they had no idea how much time they’d have or when they’d see each other again, and half the time they didn’t even get to fucking properly, ending up half-dressed and grinding against each other because they couldn’t spare even a second to do anything more than that.

“Sanji…” Kaku sounded out of breath, and his wide eyes were almost completely black with desire.  “Are you…”

“Yeah.  Do it,” Sanji closed his eyes and hissed through his teeth when Kaku’s hand closed around his arousal, slicking it with a few fast flicks of his wrist. 

He set his hands around Kaku’s waist, bracing the other man as he lowered himself onto Sanji’s cock. 

“ _Fuck,”_ Sanji groaned, his body still tingling and over-sensitized from their first round of the night, and he could tell Kaku wasn’t in much better shape by the fine tremor visible in all of his limbs. 

Kaku didn’t say anything, but he bit his lip as he kept moving, only stopping when he was fully-seated on Sanji’s thighs.  His eyes fluttered closed and he swallowed, his skin glistening in the moonlight peeking through the windows. 

The island they were currently on was a summer island, hot enough that even in the middle of the night the air stayed humid and almost unpleasantly sticky.  It was almost _too_ hot; Sanji’s skin felt on fire wherever Kaku was touching him. 

Kaku half-opened his eyes, long lashes still brushing his cheeks, and took a shuddery breath. 

“Okay?” Sanji asked, sliding his hands up Kaku’s back and trying to resist the urge to buck his hips.  Kaku shifted a little raising himself up on his knees before settling back down, and he looked more than a little overwhelmed. 

“ ‘m fine,” he promised, rolling his hips, and Sanji pretty much lost any coherent thought in his head after that. 

Because Kaku was like a damn _snake_ or something, rolling his entire body in a way that made Sanji feel every single movement.  His hands were braced on Sanji’s chest as he arched forward, fucking himself with such intensity that it was all Sanji could do to just hold onto his hips and keep him seated. 

“Fuck, Kaku…” he gasped, hands clamped on the other man’s ass.  Kaku was grinning at him and Sanji knew that he was in complete control and that had probably been his plan all along. 

He couldn’t care that much, really, because he was entirely too far gone to worry about anything but letting the mounting pleasure wash over him and clear his mind completely. 

Kaku’s fingers curled against his chest, his body rocking frantically.  His own cock was leaking, slapping against Sanji’s abs with every downward rotation of his hips.  He lifted his body back up again so he was sitting upright, using only his legs to keep bouncing up and down, and Sanji was reminded how _powerful_ he actually was.

Yeah, Kaku was a scrawny fuck, but so was he, but he knew that Kaku’s leg strength had to rival his (or more, since Sanji still hadn’t been able to do that Rankyaku thing that turned _air_ into a weapon) to be able to keep going at the same pace for so long. 

“Kaku…Kaku, _shit,”_ he yelped, his hips jerking up without him even meaning them to.  Kaku let out a little gasp, his body stilling for a moment. 

“Are you close?” he asked softly and Sanji nodded, gripping his hips even tighter.  “Good.  Want to feel you inside of me,” he said, somehow managing to keep a completely straight face, and Sanji _thought_ that it should have been ridiculously cheesy but instead all it did was make his cock twitch.  He covered his eyes, knowing his face was red from more than just exertion, and Kaku started to laugh. 

“Shut up.”

“You’re quite adorable, y’know,” Kaku sounded like he was having a conversation over a damn cup of tea or something instead of riding somebody’s cock, his voice completely casual even as he began to rock his hips again. 

Sanji tried to come up with a witty retort but it was almost impossible with the way Kaku was undulating now.  He settled for grumbling and holding on as tightly as he could, matching Kaku’s pace and feeling himself inching closer to his climax. 

Kaku did… _something…_ then, arching backward somehow without shifting his hips and slamming all of his weight down onto Sanji’s cock, and Sanji literally felt his eyes roll back as he came, his entire body shuddering. 

 _Fuck,_ that was intense. 

Kaku was still rocking on his softening cock, something that was sending pleasure and discomfort zipping through his nerves in equal measure, but he wasn’t the type of lover to leave his partner hanging. 

“Here,” he forced himself to stay in the present, pulling Kaku back upright and curling his own body forward enough that he could slide his lips over the other man’s leaking cock. 

Kaku let out a gasp at that, hips bucking into Sanji’s mouth. Sanji kept sucking, wrapping one hand around the base of Kaku’s erection and bracing the other on his back to hold him upright. 

It didn’t take long, of course, and he could feel Kaku shaking in his grasp as he started to fall apart.  Sanji swallowed, eyes sliding closed, and when he pulled off and slumped back against the pillows Kaku practically collapsed on his chest, breathing heavily. 

“Fuck…lemme…” he pushed his body up just enough for Sanji’s cock to slide out of him before slumping forward again, his breath hot against Sanji’s neck. 

“Shit,” Sanji laughed, covering his eyes with one hand because he couldn’t be more eloquent that that.  Kaku started to laugh before his lack of breath made it impossible, though Sanji felt a grin steal onto his own lips at the sound. 

“Window…’m gonna…” Kaku rolled off of Sanji and staggered to the balcony, throwing open the doors and letting the blessedly cool ocean breeze flood into the sex-soaked air of the room.  Inhaling deeply, Sanji let the familiar scent of salt-brine fill his senses, the sweat coating his body cooling rapidly in the brisk air. 

“Feels good,” he murmured, holding out a hand and tugging Kaku back to him once the older man was close enough.  It wasn’t quite so uncomfortable to curl up with him now, and apparently the last of his inhibitions had disappeared with his orgasm because he just wanted to _touch._

He ran his hands down Kaku’s sides and over his ass, back up his long body to tangle in wet reddish-gold hair.  Kaku nudged his nose against Sanji’s neck before settling more comfortably, humming in obvious contentment. 

“Was it good?” he asked, words trailing off into a yawn.  “Sorry, that tuckered me right out.”

“Mm, yeah, you’re fucking amazing,” Sanji murmured honestly. 

“I could say the same, really,” Kaku assured him. 

There was a pause so long after that statement that Sanji wondered if Kaku _had_ fallen asleep, at least until he whispered, “How long’re you lot stickin’ around?”

It wasn’t a strange question, really, since either he or Kaku tended to ask that whenever they met up, but considering how heavy the mood had been earlier…

Fuck it, Sanji decided.  Yeah, nothing would ever come of this little fling he had going, but it was the best damn sex he’d had in his entire life and he wasn’t letting go of that. 

“A couple of days, probably.  Franky said he’s got some repairs to do so that’ll slow us down,” he knew some of the crew weren’t happy about the interruption, and he’d probably have to mask just _how_ happy he was now, but that shouldn’t be an issue.  “And you?”

“Who knows, really,” Kaku snorted.  “We don’t really have a schedule, after all, but I’ll try and hold ‘em off for a bit,” he shifted and Sanji looked down at him, seeing that Kaku’s eyes were wide and expectant. 

“Good,” he replied simply, still stroking Kaku’s skin, and Kaku kissed him quickly before snuggling up to his shoulder again. 

He did fall asleep that time, breathing finally evening out and body going limp, and Sanji wondered for about the hundredth time what it all meant. 

His brain was too exhausted to think much on it, though, so he decided he’d figure it out in the morning. 

So what if they actually liked each other?  It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, and there wasn’t anything bad that could truly come of it as long as they both knew how things would end. 

They weren’t ending _yet,_ though…and right now, that was the only thing that mattered.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had never intended this to be a multi-chapter fic, but the response I got from the first part was rather positive and I had more ideas (and some encouragement from twitter) so this happened. I don’t know if there’s going to be any sort of updating schedule for this, or even where it will eventually end up, but I hope you all enjoyed this part regardless!


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of hunting eagles woke him up, their high-pitched trilling carrying through the open balcony doors.  The ocean breeze was still cool although he could see the sun was already starting to burn the fog off, and he stretched out his legs and sighed happily. 

“Finally up, huh?”

“Mm?” Sanji turned his head to the side and blinked at Kaku, suddenly feeling a little awkward because they’d never woken up together before.  There was really no way to get around how intimate it was, but he still felt completely comfortable around Kaku so maybe he didn’t mind that much. 

“It’s mid-mornin’ already, lad,” Kaku chuckled, leaning down to kiss him.  “Mm, not that y’ have t’ go anywhere if y’ really don’t want to,” he added between kisses, sounding like he _really_ hoped Sanji didn’t want to go anywhere. 

“Yeah?  Good thing I don’t, then,” Sanji latched one arm around Kaku’s neck and lifted his body up, nosing under his chin and pressing his lips to the side of the other man’s neck. 

Kaku gave a full-body shudder at that, a choked-off gasp stuck in his throat as he physically recoiled.  Sanji let him go, a little shocked because Kaku had _never_ reacted like that before and he didn’t like it at all.

“Hey.  Sorry, did I…”

“No,” Kaku shook his head, sighing deeply before moving closer again.  “Y’ didn’t do anythin’ wrong, don’t worry,” he laughed, but it sounded far from genuine.  “ ‘s just that…well, I s’pose you’ll want t’ know now, but…how much d’you know about Zoan users?”

Sanji opened his mouth to reply before he realized the answer was ‘not a lot’. Yeah, Chopper was one, but Sanji was guessing that people turning into animal hybrids was a little different than a reindeer turning into a human hybrid, and he hadn’t been around any other Zoan users enough to notice much about them. 

“Thought so.  Well,” Kaku lay beside him, propping his chin on one hand so he was looking down at Sanji, and he slipped into what Sanji was beginning to call his ‘formal tone’ where all of his little speech quirks seemed to go away.  “There’s a rather solid theory that upon eating a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, the user begins to acquire…habits that speak to the animal the fruit allows them to turn into.  Rob, for example, can probably sleep for twenty hours straight if you let him and his night vision is far beyond what any normal human should be able to see.  And me…” he sighed, glancing up at the ceiling before continuing.  “Giraffes have very sensitive necks.  So much so that when two males are fighting over a female, because they try to assert dominance by slapping their necks together, the stimulation can sometimes cause…” he stopped then, his face going beet red, and Sanji narrowed his eyes before he _got it._

“No fucking way,” he started to snicker, because the idea of two giraffes going after a lady and instead having sex with each other was really fucking funny.  “So you’re saying if I touch your neck…”

“Yes.  It’s going to arouse me much more quickly than I’d like, and for the most part my…teammates…have used that knowledge to mercilessly tease me so, as you can imagine, I’m a tad sensitive about it.”

“So,” Sanji sat up, reaching to rest his hand at the very base of Kaku’s throat and watching the other man shiver in response.  “Can you get off just by…”

“I can’t say I’ve ever tried,” Kaku shrugged, not meeting Sanji’s eyes, and that alone told the blond all he needed to know. 

“Would you like to?”

“I…” Kaku snapped his mouth shut and blushed an even deeper shade of red, nodding so quickly that Sanji wasn’t sure if he’d seen correctly.  “If y’ promise not t’ laugh at me,” he whispered, slipping back into his drawl as his nerves kicked up, and Sanji wondered probably for the millionth time how Kaku had made a living as a cold-blooded assassin because he was so far from that. 

“I’m not gonna laugh,” Sanji slid his hand up a little higher, fingertips barely touching Kaku’s neck.  “I just want to make you feel good, and if it’s as intense as you’re saying, I think it could feel fucking awesome.”

“Okay,” Kaku sighed and leaned back against the headboard, his fingers clenching in the sheets.

Sanji slid closer, leaning down to kiss him and bringing his hand up at the same time to rub his thumb over his Adam’s apple, hearing Kaku let out a tiny gasp into his mouth before he wrapped his arms around Sanji and deepened the kiss. 

He kept it slow, just one finger touching Kaku’s skin directly, but even that seemed to have an effect on the other man if the way he was reacting was any indication. 

“Mm,” Kaku sighed against his mouth, his fingers clenched almost desperately in Sanji’s hair as his hips bucked up. 

“Fuck, it’s really that good, huh?” Sanji laughed, a little amazed because from where he was siting he was barely doing anything.  He moved both his hands to Kaku’s neck then, spreading his fingers and holding the older man’s head in place while he kissed him again, and Kaku’s entire body shook at the touch. 

He could feel the other man’s cock pressed between their bodies, already fully-erect, and he wondered if he actually _could_ get Kaku off without even touching him. 

He broke the kiss and moved down, nudging his nose under Kaku’s chin and licking at his throat.  Kaku’s cock twitched at that, the other man’s breath coming in harsh pants as his hips bucked unconsciously.

“ _Fuck,”_ Kaku groaned, hands tightening on Sanji’s shoulders as the blond opened his mouth and pressed a sucking kiss to Kaku’s neck before bringing his hands up again, trying to cover as much skin as he could. “Sanji…”

Sanji grinned against his skin, feeling Kaku’s body tense as he gently scraped his teeth over the side of his neck.  They’d had sex enough times by now that Sanji knew the other man’s tells, and apparently he _could_ really get off just from this.  He moved his hands to Kaku’s shoulders to pull him up into his lap, trapping his cock against Sanji’s stomach.

Kaku made a noise low in his throat at that, arms and legs wrapping more fully around Sanji as he pressed himself as close as possible.  His hips bucked forward, seeking friction, as Sanji replaced his hands on Kaku’s neck. 

“I can’t…” Kaku gasped, moving his hips with more purpose now and damn near rutting against Sanji’s abs.  He looked overwhelmed, like he wasn’t sure if he could just…let go like this. 

Sanji kissed his jaw, sliding his tongue back down to the hollow of the other man’s throat and sucking again.  He thought absently that he _really_ hoped Kaku had a number of high-collared shirts and jackets because the marks were going to be impossible to hide. 

He doubted Kaku cared at the moment, though; with how far gone he was, Sanji knew he was right on the edge of release, and he pressed his thumbs a little harder into Kaku’s skin. 

“Come,” he growled, biting down at the join between Kaku’s neck and shoulder, and he was hardly gentle that time although it seemed to be what Kaku needed to finally orgasm. 

“ _Fuck!”_ he had the sense to muffle his shout against Sanji’s shoulder, hips shuddering.  Sanji could feel his release splatter against his stomach, and while he’d been trying to ignore his own arousal until then, it became almost impossible after watching Kaku come. 

“Shit, that was hot,” he mumbled, getting a breathy, half-embarrassed laugh in return. “I’m serious, that was fucking…”

“You were right,” Kaku spoke haltingly, taking a deep breath.  “That was…intense.  In the best possible way,” he added quickly, but Sanji had kind of already guessed that from his reactions. 

He opened his mouth to reply but Kaku’s hand wrapping around his cock made whatever words he was trying to form cut off in a groan.  

“Hang on,” Kaku murmured, flicking his wrist.  Sanji grabbed at him and held him close, his entire body thrumming with arousal.  “Maybe your neck’s not as sensitive as mine, but I bet I can find a way t’ make you come just as hard,” the other man’s voice was sly and knowing.

And, from what Sanji had experienced so far, he was pretty sure Kaku was about to make good on that promise. 

000

“You know he’s a con artist.”

“Robin-chan?” Sanji hadn’t even heard her come into the kitchen, but that by itself wasn’t unusual - Robin moved in complete silence most of the time, and even though Sanji’s Observation Haki was finely-tuned she could still get closer than most people without him so much as sensing her presence. 

“Did you think nobody would notice you sneaking off to the local Inn immediately almost every time we make port?” she didn’t sound angry, but there was an undercurrent of something in her voice that Sanji was immediately wary of. 

“I’m not sure what you…”

“He’s CP9, Sanji,” she said firmly, and he snapped his mouth shut because he’d known from the beginning that trying to deny it was useless. 

Yes, he’d been trying to be as discrete as possible, but he’d always suspected that one day somebody would catch on.

That it was Robin was probably no surprise, and he reminded himself that she used to be an assassin so maybe it would be wise to heed any advice she wanted to give. 

“I know that, Robin-chan,” he turned around from the galley counter and leaned back, pursing his lips.  Robin seemed…tense, and while part of that was perhaps because she was confronting him about something that he might react negatively about, he had a feeling a much bigger part was because of how much she’d suffered at the hands of their organization. 

Yeah, from what he’d heard, their ex-boss had done the most harm and treated her the worst, but they were all part of it. 

“I’m not angry,” she assured him, using a hand to pluck the coffee pot off of the counter and pouring herself a cup without ever moving her body closer.  Sanji picked up the cup once she was finished and the hands had winked out of existence, passing it over and getting a kind smile in return.  “I know full well they were doing their job and they believed me to be dangerous, but whether I approve of your lover or not has no bearing on my warning.”

“So you think…” he paused, because he’d warned himself all along not to get attached but Kaku had made it so fucking _easy_ to feel at least _something_ for him.  “You think he’s acting?”

“I believe that he’s quite well-versed in the art of making people believe he’s something he’s not.  Whether he has any ulterior motives in beginning some sort of relationship with you, I can’t say,” she shook her head and took a sip of her coffee.  “I don’t want to dissuade you from doing something you find enjoyable, but I thought it would be prudent to give you a reminder,” she added, and Sanji nodded in acknowledgment. 

He knew that Robin didn’t think he was stupid, but yeah, even he could admit he was starting to develop actual feelings for Kaku and everything the other man had said and done seemed to indicate those feelings would be reciprocated, but now…

Now, he was starting to second-guess _everything._ True, Kaku had no reason to lie to him since he knew the ex-agent had been honest about them being cast out by the government, but whatever they had would never last and, in his mind, this was as good a way as any to convince himself to not fall too far.

“I appreciate it, Robin-chan,” he said then, and a hand popped out of his shoulder and patted his back before disappearing as Robin turned to leave the galley. 

“I know your instincts are good, Sanji,” she stated before leaving, glancing back over her shoulder.  “Trust them.”

With that, she swept out as silently as she’d come, and Sanji managed to drag his feet over to the table before collapsing into a chair and lowering his head into his hands. 

His instincts, huh?

Well, his instincts hadn’t been telling him _anything_ where Kaku was concerned, which normally meant there was nothing suspicious happening, but his common sense…

His common sense was telling him that he needed to end this, and excuse or not, he finally had a reason he could accept to do just that. 

000

“Sanji!  I was startin’ t’ think y’ wouldn’t come!”

“Hey,” Sanji tried to keep the enthusiasm out of his voice because Kaku was so fucking _happy_ all the time it was impossible not to feed off of it.  He caught the other man when he leapt toward him, legs wound around Sanji’s waist and mouth mashed into his, and kissed back without thinking because it just felt _right._

He reached out with his Haki, trying to get any sense from Kaku that he was hiding something, but found nothing but honest affection and anticipation of…he blushed, because it was pretty obvious what that was about, and it made him feel even shittier about what had to happen. 

Maybe…maybe it didn’t have to happen just _yet,_ though, he thought as Kaku pulled at his tie and he shrugged his suit jacket off. 

He knew he was just putting off the inevitable, that sooner or later he wouldn’t be able to make those excuses anymore, but the first press of Kaku’s bare skin to his made all of his doubts fly out the window again. 

“Y’ seem distracted,” Kaku mentioned, stepping back enough that he could stare at Sanji.  “If y’ don’t want to…”

“Shut up, of course I do,” Sanji pulled him closer again, latching onto his hips and keeping him in place.  “Maybe you need to distract me more than whatever’s on my mind, hmm?”

“That c’n be arranged,” Kaku promised, pulling him toward the bed, and Sanji knew he was fucked but for the next few hours he refused to care.

000

“I talked t’ Rob today,” Kaku mentioned some time later, cuddled up to Sanji’s side as the blond leaned back against the headboard with a lit cigarette between his lips.  “He said we’ll prob’ly be here f’r a couple more days.”

And oh.  Yeah.  Sanji had told him they’d be there for repairs, so by all rights he should be _happy_ that Kaku was staying as well, but right now he’d rather they part ways as soon as possible. 

“Good,” he said idly, hearing Kaku huff a rather annoyed-sounding breath.  “What?”

“Are you okay?” Kaku asked seriously, moving to straddle Sanji’s waist and leaning to cup the blond’s face in his hands.  “All night, y’ve been…distant…like there’s somethin’ on your mind.  Y’ don’t have t’ tell me, ‘course, but…”

“I’m fine,” he tried to sound as earnest as he could though he was, in fact, far from ‘fine’.  Kaku narrowed his eyes and looked like he didn’t believe a word Sanji was saying, but eventually he shrugged and nodded.

“Right.  Well, we should get some rest,” he stretched his arms over his head and folded himself back down onto Sanji’s body.  “This is takin’ more outta me than I thought it would, but I guess neither of us are used t’ goin’ four times in less than a day,” he laughed brightly and Sanji groaned, because fuck, they really _were_ insatiable. 

“Not complaining are you?  Old man?” he grinned, remembering how Kaku had been lamenting his oh-so-advanced-age of 25 the night before, and he immediately regretted it because he was starting to get too comfortable again and that couldn’t happen. 

Kaku was curled up in his lap, eyes half-closed, though his breathing was too fast for him to be truly relaxed. 

“So what’s it gonna be, huh?  Y’ gonna slip out in the middle of the night and never come back?  Or do I get a reason and some sorta excuse as t’ why you’re breakin’ this off?” his voice was emotionless but Sanji could feel how tense he was, and he immediately felt like the world’s biggest piece of shit for it. 

“I’m…”

“Don’t,” Kaku sat up, and the look on his face was one that Sanji bet more than a few people had seen right before their death – normally wide eyes narrowed, cold and completely closed-off, his lips drawn into a tight line instead of his natural bright smile.  “Just…just go, since that’s where this is headin’ anyway.  I thought after last night we’d kinda...agreed to let this ride as long as it could, but I guess I should never’ve expected more from a _pirate.”_

Sanji flinched, because that stung more than it should have, maybe, but it wasn’t as if what Kaku was saying was _wrong_ from his perspective.  And Sanji couldn’t really tell him the real reason, not now of all times, so he stayed silent. 

Kaku might hate him for this, but it was for the best. 

It was.

He realized belatedly that though Kaku had told him to leave the other man was still firmly seated in his lap, which said more than anything else.  His hands came to rest on Kaku’s hips, thumbs stroking tiny circles into the skin over his defined hipbones, and Kaku sighed with something that sounded like utter resignation before he leaned forward and settled himself more comfortably. 

“I’m not an idiot, Sanji,” he murmured.  “I know this is temporary.  I jus’…”

“Yeah,” Sanji lifted one hand to remove the cigarette from his mouth and reached over to butt it out, blowing a last stream of smoke into the air.  “It is.”

He could _feel_ Kaku flinch that time, though the other man still didn’t move, and when he spoke next his voice was barely a whisper.  “If I ask you to stay for tonight...”

“I’d stay,” Sanji said it without thinking and wanted to bang his head against the wall because he really _was_ doing a horrible job at acting like he wanted to break things off at all. 

“You’re a piece of work, lad,” Kaku let out a tiny laugh and tipped his head down, stopping just far enough away that Sanji had to make the final move if he wanted their mouths to meet.

He did, of course, because he couldn’t fucking _not,_ but there was something final about the kiss…something that felt like too much of a ‘goodbye’, though Sanji berated himself for being a sentimental fool the moment the thought had entered his mind. 

“Well, then,” Kaku gave him a smile that held only a fraction of its normal dazzling brightness and turned away from him, curling up and closing his eyes.  “G’night, Sanji.”

Sanji didn’t say anything in return, waiting until the other man’s breathing had evened out and he was certain he was asleep (well, as certain as he _could_  be, he reasoned, since it was very probable Kaku had learned to feign sleep at some point in his life).  He slipped from the bed as quietly as possible, only taking the time to slip his pants on and throw his shirt over his shoulders.  Picking up his suit jacket and shoes, he realized belatedly that at some point his tie had been flung clean across the room and decided to leave it instead of stumbling around in the dark. 

He slid out of the room, bare feet making no noise on the padded carpet of the Inn’s hallway, and took a deep breath as he let the door close quietly behind him. 

Kaku hadn’t asked.

He said he would stay if Kaku asked, but Kaku hadn’t _asked…_ not directly, in any case…and Sanji was going to tell himself that until he _forced_ himself to believe it wasn’t just a flimsy excuse. 

His appearance was immaculate by the time he walked out of the lobby doors and into the cool night air, a stark contrast to the roiling in his gut and the gnawing guilt eating away at his insides. 

It was for the best, he told himself for probably the thousandth time. 

He might feel like shit, and he’d probably end up regretting it forever, but it was for the best. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Uhh…those of you who know me will know any multi-chapter fic I touch has to have its fair share of angst eventually…
> 
> 2\. The thing about giraffes having sensitive necks and male giraffes often having sex with each other even while trying to vie for a female’s attention is completely true, and of course once I found that out I needed to incorporate it into this fic ;)
> 
> 3\. Thank you again to everybody who’s read/commented on this fic! Seeing as it’s such an uncommon pairing I had no expectations when I posted the first chapter of this but I’m very glad people have been giving it a chance!


	4. Chapter 4

“Got a light?”

He held out his lighter without thinking, not looking up from the shopping list he was working on. 

They’d docked at the island in the early morning and he’d taken off on his own, needing some time to himself.  He was certain nobody but Robin had known exactly what had been happening, but apparently his internal conflict must have been more noticeable than he’d thought because almost everybody on the crew had asked him if something was wrong.  He’d faked a smile and pretended that everything was fine, although after a week out on the ocean it was starting to wear on him to keep up such a fake front all the time. 

Because the truth was that he _wasn’t_ fine.  Even if he’d managed to more-or-less convince himself that he’d done the right thing, the _way_ he’d done it was still bothering him.  He wasn’t a total asshole, much as he acted like one at times to cover up his true feelings, but he’d been downright cruel and Kaku had done nothing to deserve that sort of treatment. 

So maybe it was guilt eating away at him more than anything, but being on land almost made things _worse_ because the chances that CP9 were there were, based on their previous track record, probably rather high.  Still, he figured that if he could finish his shopping and offer to stand guard on the ship overnight, that would prevent him from needing to find a hotel and he’d probably be safe from running into anybody he really didn’t want to see. 

He’d started to calm down a little away from the admittedly well-intentioned but far too invasive concerns of the crew, and after aimlessly wandering for a bit he ended up at a little cafe, deciding to grab a cup of coffee and sit out on the patio while he finalized the supplies they’d need. 

“Thanks,” he felt the lighter pressed back into his palm and pocketed it, finally tearing his eyes away from the paper.

“Yeah, of-“ he looked up, the words dying in his throat and he could swear that his life had just flashed before his eyes.  The woman in front of him might have been wearing a rather casual t-shirt and jeans instead of the tight-fitting outfit he’d seen her in the last time they’d encountered each other, but she was still unmistakeable.

“Hello, Sanji,” she smiled, although there was something mocking about it, and took the chair across from him without waiting for an invitation.  “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Uh…” he stammered, still trying to figure out what was happening.  The woman tucked her long blond hair behind her ear, adjusting her glasses before taking a slow drag of her now-lit cigarette. 

“Don’t look so terrified,” she crossed her legs and leaned forward, her smile widening ever so slightly.  “If I was here to kill you, you’d already be dead.”

He nodded, unable to say anything else, and tried to figure out why she’d shown up to talk to him. 

Well, obviously it was about Kaku, but this either meant that the rest of CP9 had known about them or else Kaku had told them, and at the moment Sanji wasn’t sure which one was worse for him. 

“Before you ask, he doesn’t know about this,” she said brusquely, and Sanji got the idea that _everything_ this woman did was as no-nonsense as possible.  He recalled Nami mentioning that she’d been undercover as Iceburg’s secretary for five years, and from what Sanji had seen of the man Iceburg was rather notorious for not actually taking any of his mayoral duties seriously so her attitude had probably been a rather large asset in that situation. 

“Then why…” he stopped, trying to get himself under control.  Yes, she was attractive, and she could kill him easily, but he wasn’t feeling any threat from her at the moment and he forced himself to relax. 

“Because he’s moping,” she replied, idly staring at her nails.  “He’d never admit it, but he’s fairly transparent.  It’s easy to tell when he’s down.”

“And you think I care?” Sanji looked back down at the table, knowing that if he met her eyes she’d probably be able to tell he was lying in an instant.  “Look, he’s a good fuck, but that’s all he was to me.”

“Hmm,” she tapped her long fingernails on the tabletop, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully.  “I had a hard time believing the man who was so patient and courteous with me would treat anyone he was involved with so callously,” she drew the words out, her tone far icier now than it had been and Sanji realized that all of Kaku’s group probably cared about each other the way his own crew did.  If their situations were reversed none of them would probably be all that kind, either.

“Look,” he sighed, knowing that trying to be evasive wasn’t going to get him anywhere with this woman.  “You’re assassins.  You lie for a living.  How am I supposed to trust that _anything_ he’s ever said to me is genuine?”

“Ah,” her demeanor suddenly changed and she smiled rather mischievously, as if she were in on a joke that Sanji was completely clueless about.  “Well, I suppose I can’t blame you, in that case.  The truth is that some of us _are_ trained to use seduction as a method of getting the enemy to…let their guards down,” she purred and Sanji swallowed, trying to keep himself under control. 

Fuck, she was hot.

“However,” her attitude changed again, becoming much more business-like, and she reached up to adjust her glasses.  “Kaku’s never gotten that training.  I love the boy, but he’s hardly going to entice people because of his looks,” she smirked and Sanji felt irrationally annoyed at the words even though he couldn’t deny that Kaku’s nose would _probably_ be the first thing people noticed about him. 

“So you’re saying…”

“Anything he’s said to you is only being influenced by his personal feelings,” she clarified, and while Sanji supposed he should have felt reassured by it, it only made his guilt over how he had treated Kaku even worse.  “I’m not here to tell you what to do, but his happiness is important to me.”

“You’re a good friend,” he muttered, taking a long gulp of his coffee and trying to figure out his own feelings now that he knew the truth. 

“I try,” she stood up, unfurling her long legs and setting a hand on her hip.  “I won’t tell you what to do, but if you _ever_ hurt him again, you know what I’m capable of.  It’ll make what happened last time feel painless,” she smiled again but all Sanji could remember was getting kicked in the groin at high speed and he’d rather not repeat that.   “Goodbye, Sanji.”

“Wait!” he said before he could help himself, and she half-turned.  “I…” he heaved a breath, trying to dig up at least a fraction of his normal charm.  “I’d be honored if you would at least tell me your name, my dear.”

“That’s more like it,” she blew out a stream of smoke and looked over her shoulder. “It’s Kalifa.”

She wiggled her fingers in a wave before walking away, Sanji staring after her and realizing with a sinking feeling that he felt worse than before – and, unless he could really sort everything out and come to some sort of decision he could live with, that probably wasn’t going to change.

000

He’d been on-edge since Kalifa left, mostly because he was pretty sure she wasn’t going to be the only member of CP9 to talk to him, and as such he nearly jumped out of his skin when something landed heavily on his shoulder. 

There was a cooing in his ear and he could feel soft fabric brushing against his cheek, his blood running cold when he tugged at it and realized what it was. 

His tie.  The tie he’d left in Kaku’s room that night.

Except it was barely recognizable, shredded into strips of fabric that almost crumbled under his touch, and he was _pretty_ sure that was supposed to be a warning of some kind…

“So.  You’re Sanji.”

Sanji could feel his heartbeat quicken at the voice, his entire body going numb from the overwhelming sense of dread that accompanied the fairly innocuous sounding words.

The bird on his shoulder took off, wings beating at the air as it circled around, and Sanji very slowly turned his body to face the one who’d addressed him.

There was no question who it was, of course, and he prepared himself for the worst only to come face-to-face with a man barely taller than he himself was. 

He blinked, trying to rationalize this person with the stories of Rob Lucci that he’d heard and finding it impossible.  Yes, he and Lucci had spoken…rather briefly…back on the sea train, but he’d been made irrational by his desperation to save Robin and hadn’t considered him all that closely. 

He looked…younger than Sanji had assumed he’d be, slim and not overly muscular despite probably being both stronger and faster than any normal human had a right to be.  He was dressed rather smartly in an outfit not unlike what Sanji would wear with a waistcoat and tie, his long hair tied back and his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows

All in all his appearance was rather unremarkable aside from the pigeon now currently on his own shoulder, and Sanji wasn’t sure if that put him more or less at ease. 

“And you’re Rob Lucci,” he finally replied, lighting a cigarette to cover any nerves that might slip out.  Physically Lucci wasn’t intimidating in the least, but Sanji could feel his aura even with the distance between them and it was almost stifling. 

“I assume you know why I’m here,” Lucci stuck his hands in his pockets, arched brows drawing together as he studied Sanji more closely. 

“Look, your group really doesn’t have to spend all day accosting me.  I know I was an asshole to him,” he shrugged, since there was no denying it.  Fuck, if somebody ever treated him the way he’d treated Kaku he’d probably hunt them down and kick their ass himself. 

“You were,” Lucci obviously didn’t mince words.  “He’s accepted that and let it go, because that’s how he is,” he said the words in a rather dismissive tone that made Sanji bristle for no apparent reason.  “I used to believe he wouldn’t last long in this job because he gets attached far too easily, and any fool can see that he’s become especially attached to you.”

“Yeah, right,” Sanji stuffed his hands in his pockets and frowned, wondering why Lucci was even bothering with talking to him if all he was going to do was insult a guy that was supposed to be his teammate.

“You misunderstand me,” Lucci turned sharply on his heel and started to walk down the street, leaving Sanji no real choice but to follow.  The older man led him into a nearby park, seating himself on the ledge of a rather ornate fountain and watching as the pigeon fluttered into the basin and started happily splashing around in the water.

Sanji took a seat beside him, smoking his cigarette and crossing his legs to at least give the illusion he was relaxed.  No, at this point he didn’t think Lucci was going to _hurt_ him, but he was still uneasy. 

“It may not seem like it, but I care a great deal about the boy,” Lucci leaned forward, his severe eyebrows draw together as he pursed his lips.  “It’s not often I allow myself to feel any sort of attachment toward another person, but…”

“Yeah,” Sanji sighed, exhaling a cloud of smoke.  He knew that Lucci wasn’t revealing this to try and seem like he was any more human, but he was echoing Sanji’s own thoughts about how easy it was for Kaku to worm his way into somebody’s life and make it better merely because of his presence there.  “He’s something else.”

He heard a low, dark chuckle beside him and turned to see Lucci giving him a knowing and rather predatory smirk, and he realized he’d majorly fucked up because even to his own ears he sounded utterly smitten. 

“Look,” he met the other man’s eyes and tried not to flinch, sitting up as straight as possible.  “It’s not going to fucking work.  Why even bother?”

“I have no interest one way or the other,” Lucci waved his hand as if to shoo away the words entirely.  “But if you’re wondering about his motives, they’re pure.  Anything else is entirely on the two of you to figure it out, and all I can offer is that if I’m given no reason to hunt your little crew of pirates, I have no interest in doing so.  You and he are free to do whatever you wish as far as I’m concerned,” his voice was impassive and he truly did sound utterly indifferent, though his earlier words implied that he wouldn’t be having this conversation at all if he thought Sanji was any sort of threat to Kaku…or to any of them, really. 

“Yeah, well, it won’t be anything,” Sanji dropped the cigarette butt on the ground, grinding it under the heel of his boot and releasing a last breath of smoke into the air.  “So tell him to fucking get over me because I’m not interested.”

“Hmm,” Lucci unfurled his legs and stood, waiting for the pigeon to flap its way out of the fountain and flutter near his shoulder.  “Be advised that you’re speaking to somebody who’s mastered the art of hiding any sort of emotional weakness, and that you’re not nearly as good as you think you are at doing the same,” was all he said before raising one hand in a wave and walking quickly away. 

“ _Fuck,”_ Sanji dropped his head into his hands, scrubbing them through his hair until he was sure it was a complete mess. 

He’d talk to the others, he decided as he took off in a half-jog in the direction of the harbor.  He might need to grovel a bit but maybe they could leave without spending the night. 

Right now, he needed to be as far away from Kaku as possible if he was _ever_ going to convince himself that leaving that night had been the right thing to do.

000

He never made it to the ship, mostly because as he pounded his way down a narrow alley his pathway was blocked by a large shape slamming into the ground right in front of him.

A quick glimpse of an overly long neck and hooves was all he got before the creature him was shrinking back down to human size, leaving a rather hesitant-looking Kaku in its place.

“Move,” Sanji growled, because he was _not_ in any frame of mind to deal with this right now. 

“Sanji, wait a…”

“I’ll fucking kick you out of the way,” Sanji tapped his toe against the ground, hoping it wouldn’t come to that. 

The look Kaku gave him then was so full of hurt and betrayal that it made his heart ache, but hell, if Lucci thought he couldn’t hide his emotions? 

He was about to prove him wrong. 

“Okay,” Kaku took a step back, glancing up at the rooftops above them.  “Goodbye, then.  At least I get t’ say it this time,” he crouched down and Sanji realized he was going to jump straight up onto the building and with a slowly creeping feeling of horror he _knew_ that if he did, he’d never see him again. 

He leapt forward before he could convince himself it was a bad idea, tackling Kaku to the ground and ending up above him with his hands pressing down on the other man’s shoulders so he couldn’t get up. 

“You’re kinda givin’ me mixed messages here,” Kaku looked annoyed, if anything, and Sanji heaved a shaky breath and tried to collect his thoughts.  “Sanji,” Kaku wrapped his legs around the other man’s and tugged forward, causing Sanji to nearly fall onto his chest.  “Whatever you’re feelin’ is okay.  Jus’…be honest with yourself.”

“ _Shit,”_ Sanji flopped down, not caring they were lying on the dirty ground, and tucked his head under Kaku’s chin. 

Kaku’s arms came around him then and he sank into the embrace, knowing he’d made the right decision because his body relaxed instantly and his mind, for once, was blissfully blank. 

“Fuck me, lad, I don’t understand you at all,” Kaku’s voice was back to being warm, full of amusement and affection.

“I’m a fucking stubborn idiot,” Sanji mumbled, closing his eyes and tightening his fingers in the material of Kaku’s jacket.  “And I wouldn’t blame you if you hated my guts.”

“After some of the things I’ve done to people I’ve cared about f’r the sake of my job?” Kaku sounded surprised.  “I couldn’t really hold this against you.”

“Oh.  Good,” Sanji forced himself to sit upright.  “We need to talk, though,” he mentioned, because he knew just falling back into bed together wouldn’t get them anywhere in the long run. 

“Yes. Of course,” Kaku sat up as well, wincing when he reached behind him.  “Though, I think I’m gonna need t’ change.  Y’ did a number on my clothes, knockin’ me over like that.”

Sanji had the grace to look guilty even though Kaku was smiling, and when the other man suggested they head to his room he agreed instantly. 

He might not be able to take back what he’d done, but he could try to make up for it, and that was what he was going to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Well, I wasn’t expecting Oda to do what he did in the last chapter, so suffice to say this fic is now entirely AU since CP9 are still fugitives in it. Still, I can’t say I’m displeased with him introducing them to the story again!
> 
> 2\. I’m thinking there will probably only be a couple more chapters to this fic, but if you’re still reading and enjoying it in any way please feel free to leave a comment/review because they do motivate me to write faster!


	5. Chapter 5

“So.  I take it my teammates took it upon themselves t’ find you, even though I _specifically_ told them t’ leave it alone?”

Sanji looked over from his position on the bed, seeing that Kaku was trying to tame his wet hair.  He’d headed for the bathroom as soon as they’d made it into the inn and while Sanji had tried to apologize for the fact that his jacket at least was ruined, Kaku had merely waved him off and told him to make himself comfortable. 

He had, almost falling asleep on the soft bed because he hadn’t gotten much rest in the last week, and as such he was sleepy and content and kind of madly craving human contact. 

“C’mere,” he mumbled, flopping his arm out to the side and grinning when Kaku hopped onto the bed and curled up close to him. The hotel robe he was wearing was soft under Sanji’s fingertips and Kaku was still hot from the shower he’d taken, which only served to increase Sanji’s level of comfort.  “And yeah, they did.  I thought they were gonna murder me at first,” he admitted with a nervous laugh. 

“Nah, y’ don’t hafta be afraid of ‘em,” Kaku promised, his own eyes half-closed.  “I know they c’n be a little much, but they’ve only got my best interests at heart.”

“I’m starting to see that,” Sanji murmured, curling his body as close as he possibly could. 

They were both silent after that, Kaku’s hands eventually finding their way into Sanji’s hair as he played idly with the golden strands.  He cleared his throat, taking a deep breath before he finally asked, “What changed your mind?  About me, I mean.  Y’ seemed pretty set on jus’ takin’ off forever at the last island.”

Sanji heaved a sigh, knowing that he was going to have to swallow his pride about this one because Kaku deserved to know the truth.  “Uh…” he closed his eyes, pressing up into Kaku’s touch and hearing the older man chuckle as he kept his fingers moving.  “You’re gonna call me an idiot, but honestly, I thought…you might be lying to me.”

“Mm?  About what?” Kaku didn’t sound angry yet, thankfully, but that might change with what Sanji was about to say

“About everything.  About your feelings,” he clarified, feeling Kaku’s hands still.  “I know, it’s…”

“No.  No, considering my profession…y’ve got every right t’ be suspicious.  Is that why…”

“Yeah,” Sanji nodded, shrugging his shoulders.  “I was…fuck, I was starting to feel the way you said _you_ did, and I tried to convince myself that nothing good was gonna come of it, so…”

“So y’ thought that if you could believe I was lyin’, it’d be easier to break things off,” Kaku reasoned, humming thoughtfully.  “I c’n see the logic in that, lad; I’m not gonna yell at you for it,” he chuckled and Sanji finally opened his eyes.

“Still, it’s not fair to you,” he wrapped his arms around Kaku’s waist and nuzzled against his shoulder.  “It’s pretty shitty of me to try and discredit your feelings that way.”

“It’d take more’n that y’ get me steamed,” Kaku promised him.  “But that still doesn’t explain how y’ came to that conclusion.”

“Talking to your teammates,” Sanji replied, feeling relieved now that he knew Kaku was willing to listen.  “Kalifa-san said that you weren’t…that it wasn’t your job to seduce people.”

“Gee, I wonder why,” Kaku’s tone was utterly scathing and Sanji snorted a laugh against his robe.  “Seriously, they didn’t even _try_ t’ train me f’r that.”

“But one of you guys must do it,” Sanji pushed himself up a little so they were level, interested now that Kaku seemed open to talking about his job.  Yeah, he knew the basic ideas of what CP9’s purpose was, but getting a first-hand account of the inner workings of the government wasn’t something that happened every day.  “I mean, she’s gorgeous, but that won’t work on everybody.”

“True enough.  I dunno if you’ve seen the guys in our group, but they’re nothin’ to write home about,” he grinned.  “If anybody _had_ t’ do it, it was usually Rob.”

Sanji nodded, because he could see that.  Lucci was fucking terrifying, yeah, but on a purely aesthetic level he was attractive enough.  It was hard to imagine him opening up enough to actually come onto somebody, but Sanji guessed that if he could rationalize it as just being part of the job that might make it easier.  “It’s hard to imagine him…y’know…”

“He knows what he’s doin’,” Kaku replied, but there was something odd in his voice.  It was too strained, and Sanji didn’t know why he’d be uncomfortable talking about it unless…

“No fucking way!”

“Sanji…”

“ _Seriously?!”_ Sanji sat up, smirking as Kaku’s cheeks went pink in obvious embarrassment.  “When?”

“We were undercover f’r 5 years in Water 7 and he was s’posed to be unable t’ talk,” he mumbled.  “So it was the only logical thing t’ do if both of us needed it.”

“Huh,” Sanji blinked, trying to figure out if he was jealous or not.  Not that he had a _right_ to be, really, but it was definitely something he wouldn’t have expected.  “So you guys aren’t…”

“I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to love a man like that,” Kaku half-smiled, looking a little sad now.  “But I think it helped us understand each other a little more…at least, I understand _him_ far better, since even hecouldn’t keep alla his walls up when…y’know,” he waved a hand and Sanji figured he’d flustered him enough so he let it go. 

“Okay.  So, if you weren’t trained for that, what _were_ you trained for?”

“Oh,” Kaku looked relieved at the change of subject.  “Lotsa things…obviously mastering the techniques of _Rokushiki_ was important, and things like…how t’ be successful undercover, integrating into a civilian society, weapons training, surveillance…pretty much what y’d expect when y’ think of bein’ a spy,” he winked before his face fell.  “I mean, it was incredibly exhausting both physically and mentally and only the best made it through, and some of it…the torture training…” his eyes went glassy and Sanji had a feeling he wasn’t really in the present anymore.

It was scary, seeing him detach like that, and he wasn’t sure if touching him would cause him to lash out but after about thirty seconds of Kaku barely even _breathing_ and still staring into space he knew he had to do something. 

“Hey.  Kaku,” he reached out carefully, touching the other man’s arm.  The action caused him to shake his head and blink, and he pulled away before realizing where he was and relaxing again.  “It’s okay.  You don’t have to talk about it.”

“No.  It’ll help,” Kaku sounded more certain now.  “Just…” he flopped down on the bed and covered his eyes.  “Sorry.  I shouldn’t ask anything of you.”

“After the way I treated you?  Of course you can,” Sanji promised, laying down so he was close but still not touching. 

“I jus’…need somethin’ to remind me I’m not back there,” he mumbled, and Sanji figured he could definitely help with that.  He threw an arm over Kaku’s chest and curled himself close, hoping that was what Kaku needed. 

“Is this okay?”

“Mm,” Kaku finally took his hands away from his eyes and let one rest on Sanji’s back, almost like he was trying to ground himself in reality.  “Sorry.  ‘s been years, but it still gives me nightmares.”

“When you say torture, you mean…being trained to torture people for information, or…” Sanji had a feeling that’s not what this was about.  No, that probably wasn’t pleasant, but it still wouldn’t affect somebody so deeply. 

“Ha.  No.  I mean, yes, there was that, but…” he stared at the ceiling, speaking in a monotone voice as if he were reciting something from a manual.  “The situations undercover agents are sent into cannot be controlled, and being discovered and captured are always possibilities.  As such, a good agent must be trusted to not reveal anything of what they know, even under extreme conditions.”

Sanji felt his skin start to crawl, his breath quickening because he didn’t even want to _hear_ anymore but if Kaku wanted to talk, he needed to be there for him. 

He owed him that.

“They didn’t tell us until after that no normal human could survive what they put us through without breaking.  That’s what it was about, finding our breaking point and seeing how long and how much we could take.  Physical, psychological…I don’t know if it truly lasted days, but it felt that way,” he turned his body toward Sanji and Sanji held him as tightly as he could.  “Fuck.  I’m sorry, you don’t need to hear this.”

“It’s okay,” Sanji realized how dry his throat had gotten and swallowed, still trying to process what he’d heard.  “I can’t believe the government would do that to their own agents.  Sick bastards,” he growled, more angry than anything now. 

“There’s logic to it, since we’re meant to protect the government’s secrets, but…feeling like I’d failed because I couldn’t handle anymore, that was the worst part,” his voice was hollow.  “None of us ever spoke to each other about it, but I assume it was much the same for everybody,” he sounded tired and Sanji could only imagine how much this had been eating away at him for so many years. 

Kaku, he was coming to learn, was somebody that could hide his emotions when necessary but he couldn’t do it indefinitely, and that he’d never been able to talk to anybody about this…that couldn’t have been easy. 

“I’m sorry.”

“ ‘s not your fault,” Kaku shrugged, rolling himself almost on top of Sanji and resting on his chest.  “I think it helped jus’ to say out loud that it happened.”

“Yeah?” Sanji tilted his head back against the pillow, sighing.  “There’s something else I’ve been wondering, though…I mean, from everything I’ve heard, I don’t even know why a guy like you would want to join CP9 in the first place,” he let one hand rest in the small of Kaku’s back, holding him steady. 

“Ah.  Well, if it was up t’ me, I wouldn’t, but I didn’t really have a choice.  The government looks for promising kids…either orphans that nobody would miss or children of other employees…and ships ‘em off for training.  It’s the only life I’ve known,” he admitted, but that more than anything made Sanji’s heart ache for him.  “My whole life I’ve been trained to be a killer, and that’s…I can’t get away from it,” he sounded on the verge of breaking down and Sanji could hardly blame him.

Because Kaku was far too good for the life he’d led, and knowing that none of it had been by his own choosing somehow made it even more tragic. 

“I’m fucking messed up, Sanji.  I hope you know that,” Kaku sounded bitter.  Sanji pressed a kiss into his hair, breathing out slowly through his nose and wondering how he could make things better. 

He probably couldn’t, since Kaku had been dealing with this for longer than Sanji had been alive, but he had to try.

“They didn’t break you,” he finally said, because he had to say _something_ but what was he even _supposed_ to say after hearing a story like that? 

Kaku let out a harsh laugh that told Sanji exactly how much he believed that, but Sanji wasn’t about to let him keep feeling sorry for himself when there was no need for it. 

“I’m serious.  You’ve been through shit and you’re one of the happiest fucking people I’ve ever met, y’know?  You care about people, and you’ve got morals, and if they tried to brainwash you into becoming some sort of soulless killer it didn’t work, because you didn’t let them get through to you.  _That’s_ what’s important,”  he promised, getting a tiny smile in return that at least was better than nothing. 

“I s’pose,” Kaku slid back into his drawl, his expression more relaxed now.  Sanji didn’t know if it was because his words had helped or because Kaku was slamming his carefully-constructed mask back into place, but it made Sanji feel more at ease regardless.  “Honestly, if I’d’ve been able t’ choose my own life, bein’ a shipwright would’ve made me happy.  I remember buildin’ this model ship as a kid,” he was smiling more fully now as he reminisced, and Sanji figured that even if they were training these kids to be agents they still had to let them be _kids_ at some point.  “If I could’ve stayed in Water 7 forever?  I’d have been okay with it,” he admitted with a wistful look in his eyes, and Sanji knew he was being honest.

“I wish you could have,” he replied, pulling Kaku up so they were level and leaning in a little.  He still didn’t know if they were okay with each other, or if Kaku was willing to give him another chance, but he saw the older man nod his head almost imperceptibly so he decided to take that as a positive sign. 

He tried to keep the kiss chaste, because he’d been serious about them not just falling back into bed, but after _that_ conversation he doubted things could ever be so casual between them again.  Maybe it was a weakness, but when somebody needed help, Sanji tried to do whatever he could to give it…and Kaku might not ever _admit_ to needing help, but it was obvious he needed at least some assurance that Sanji didn’t think any less of him. 

“Stay,” Kaku said then, pulling back a little.  “I didn’t ask you last time but you…you said you would and I…” he took a deep breath, closing his eyes.  “We don’t hafta do anything if y’ don’t want to, I just kinda want somebody close tonight,” he looked like it had taken an immense effort to get the words out, but they were unnecessary. 

This time, Sanji didn’t need Kaku to ask, because he wanted to stay all on his own. 

000

“Hey, I got food!”

Kaku turned around from the armchair he was sitting in and then proceeded to vault over the back, ending up directly in front of Sanji.  

“You seem better.”

“Like I said, talking about it helped,” he grinned and took the bag from Sanji’s hand, hopping back over the chair and plopping it on the end table as he sat back down.  “ ‘s not like I c’n change it, so why dwell?”

He had a point, Sanji supposed, even though he was still pretty sure Kaku wasn’t _fully_ as okay with everything as he seemed. 

He wouldn’t have asked Sanji to stay with him otherwise, but Sanji knew he was a damn good actor so covering up how much it was still affecting him was probably second-nature by now.  

“I wasn’t sure what to get,” he plopped himself down in the other armchair and sighed, reaching for one of the containers and a pair of chopsticks.  “I dunno if you eat meat, so…”

“Sanji,” Kaku chuckled.  “I hope y’know I’m not an _actual_ giraffe.”

“Well, yeah, but you were the one that said Zoan-users picked up characteristics from their animals, so I wasn’t sure,” he shrugged, feeling a little foolish because he should have just asked before he’d left.  “But there was a cart down by the docks that seemed to have a big line-up, so I figure it’s gotta be good,” he opened the box and inhaled, pleased at the collection of spices and herbs that assaulted his senses. 

“What is it?” Kaku popped open his own box and poked around with his chopsticks, seemingly satisfied as he dug in rather heartily.

“Chicken karaage,” Sanji mumbled, swallowing his mouthful of food and deciding that it was more than acceptable. 

“I bet your cooking’s better,” Kaku glanced sideways at him and Sanji snorted, though part of him really _did_ want to cook something for Kaku one of these days if he got the chance. 

“My cooking’s damn good, but you’d have to try it before you can compare,” he pointed his chopsticks at Kaku before going back to eating, and Kaku hummed thoughtfully. 

“I hope that’s an offer,” he sounded hopeful and Sanji was hardly going to turn him down now. 

“Of course,” he shoveled some more rice into his mouth and sighed happily.  “Oh, apparently there’s some sort of…night market down at the harbor tonight.  I thought if you wanted to get out for a bit…I mean, if you’re feeling up to it,” he added, because he couldn’t read Kaku _that_ well yet.  He could tell the other man was far more extroverted than he was, and if Sanji had to guess he would say that Kaku was somebody who actually felt more at ease being around a bustling crowd than alone with his thoughts.  It wasn’t a mentality Sanji necessarily shared, but he’d go with Kaku if the other man wanted to. 

“I wouldn’t mind, actually,” Kaku replied after a few moments of silence.  “I’ll get dressed after we’re finished and then we can head over,” he polished off the rest of his food rather quickly before back-flipping over the chair and then proceeding clearing the bed in a single leap. 

Sanji rolled his eyes, knowing that Kaku wasn’t even necessarily showing off, but he still couldn’t get over just how damn flexible and limber the other man was. 

He finished his own food and set the box aside, leaning back in his chair and staring out at the ocean.  The climate on the island was mild, somewhere between perpetual spring and summer, and the night was turning out to be calm and pleasantly warm. 

Perfect weather for strolling around an outdoor market, really, and he was about to stand up when he felt the chair lean back and then Kaku was springing over it again and onto his lap.  

“Are you sure you aren’t some sort of gazelle?” he quirked a curled brow and Kaku snickered, leaning in to kiss him. 

“Nope, I was doing that long before I ate that fruit,” he mumbled before moving closer again.  Sanji’s hands found his hips instinctively, pulling him in. “Hmm, we should probably go…”

“Yeah,” Sanji nodded, letting him stand and then getting up himself.  Kaku grabbed his hand and tugged him out of the room, leaving Sanji barely enough time to grab his suit jacket because the other man apparently just went everywhere at the fastest possible speed. 

It wasn’t far to the market, the streets already starting to fill up by the time they arrived.  Kaku’s eyes lit up at the sight of the bright lights and colorful stalls, and Sanji knew it had been a good idea to suggest coming here. 

His only fear was really running into one of his crew, since the lure of that much food crammed into a small area would probably be impossible for Luffy to ignore. 

“Sanji?  You coming?” Kaku looked expectant and Sanji shook his head, chasing the negative thoughts away.

It might not even happen, but if it did, he’d deal with it. 

For now, he was just going to focus on enjoying the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. This fic keeps getting longer because I keep getting more ideas, so I’m not even going to predict how much longer it will be at this point but I have plans for at least four more chapters right now.
> 
> 2\. Chicken karaage is basically small pieces of battered, deep-fried chicken that are marinated in ginger, garlic and soy sauce. And it’s delicious. 
> 
> 3\. Thank you all again for the lovely reviews/comments and words of encouragement! I’m glad people are still enjoying this rather unconventional pairing, especially because they’re so much fun to write :)


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